PITTSBURGH -- To Mike Tomlin, the Pittsburgh Steelers aren't stuck.
To be stuck, he said Tuesday, would insinuate the organization is helpless, and he doesn't feel that.
So does that mean he's optimistic about the direction of the team after a fifth consecutive one-and-done postseason foray?
Not quite.
"I don't know that I'm ready to be overly optimistic or sell optimism to you, either," Tomlin said. "I'm just acknowledging what transpired and what has to happen and what is beginning to happen. And acknowledging the complexity and the amount of work that's ahead of us.
"Certainly feel capable, but definitely don't feel in the mood for optimism or the selling of optimism. I don't know that that's appropriate."
Where the Steelers are, in the head coach's own words, is caught between helplessness and optimism.
The Steelers have won 80 regular-season games in the past eight seasons. They haven't won a playoff game in that same stretch, going 0-5. Tomlin said Tuesday his players frequently joke with him about one of his favorite cliches: "Two is a pattern." What about five?
The Steelers' current system is designed to help them maintain stability. Under Tomlin, they've maintained a pristine 18-season stretch of non-losing seasons. Yet, those regular-season wins haven't brought them closer to the upper echelon of the AFC -- teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills. Because of those non-losing seasons, the Steelers consistently draft in the second half of the first round. This year, they have the No. 21 pick. And though third-year general manager Omar Khan has shown a willingness to be more aggressive on the trade market, an organization married to precedent has rarely shown a willingness to move the kind of capital needed to acquire a top-10, franchise-altering pick.
Tomlin vowed Tuesday there would be change, the kind inevitable after a 10-3 start collapsed into a 10-8 season and another first-round playoff exit.
"Although we've had similar results, rest assured that we're not doing the same things and hoping for a different result," he said. "We have adapted. We have altered our approach and we will continue because we're not getting what we seek -- and that's the confetti game, is to be world champs.
"Our goals are really clear. It's also really clear that we're falling short of it, and we're falling short of it in a consistent way. We're still going to be open to adapting."
In part because he signed a three-year extension before the 2024 season and told teams who might consider inquiring about his availability in a trade to "save your time," Tomlin isn't going anywhere. Still, there are other changes he and the organization can make to get the Steelers dislodged from a cycle of above-average -- but not good enough -- NFL seasons. Here are three to consider.
Trade an impact player -- or two
Tomlin is off the trade market, but the Steelers have a handful of other valuable options that could be turned into premium draft picks. Linebacker T.J. Watt is their most valuable possibility, but he's adamant he doesn't want to go anywhere else. The Steelers should honor that -- but only if they plan to employ a defensive scheme or philosophy that enables him to have a greater impact when the games matter most. Watt, a perennial NFL Defensive Player of the Year contender, didn't record a solo tackle, assist, interception, quarterback hit, forced fumble, fumble recovery or sack in his final 117 snaps of the season. His last sack came in Week 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles when he recorded two. Either use Watt more effectively -- or use him to build a team that can contend through the draft.
For his part, Watt said Monday he was open to moving around more, something that produced promising results in a small sample size this season.
Watt aside, the Steelers have a pair of other tradable players: receiver George Pickens and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Parting with Fitzpatrick, who landed with the Steelers in a precedent-breaking move when former GM Kevin Colbert sent a first-round pick to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for the safety in 2019, would free up $24.2 million cap space over the next two years.
That's money the Steelers could invest in another lockdown corner opposite of Joey Porter Jr. Pending free agent Donte Jackson was productive early in his lone season with the team, but a lingering back injury hampered his effectiveness late in the season. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin opted to use Fitzpatrick as the last line of defense this season, and because of that, Fitzpatrick wasn't in position to make the game-changing plays that were his calling card early in his career. Fitzpatrick recorded only one interception in his past two seasons with the Steelers. Similar to Watt, either incorporate Fitzpatrick more effectively, or use the capital and cap space gained by a potential trade to tangibly improve the team.
Because the team still lacks wide receiver depth, trading Pickens might seem counterintuitive. But the third-year pass catcher is poised to enter an offseason in which he's eligible for a contract extension.
Pickens' talent is undeniable and he made several acrobatic catches during the season. But for all of his positives, there are several red flags. In December, he drew Tomlin's ire for being called for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in a win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
"He's got to grow up," Tomlin said at the time. "He's got to grow up in a hurry."
He also has been a distraction off the field. Pickens wasn't spotted during player arrivals in their typical window before the Chiefs' game on Christmas Day, and Tuesday, Tomlin said he couldn't definitively say if Pickens arrived late. A week later, during a Week 18 loss to the Bengals, Pickens appeared to be gesturing and engaging with a fan in the crowd as tight end Pat Freiermuth held him back. A season earlier, Tomlin had to address Pickens' apparent lack of effort in a game against the Colts.
"There's certainly, obviously, more room for growth there," Tomlin said Tuesday. "I think he covered some ground in 2024, but there's certainly a heck of a lot more ground to be covered and we'll see where it leaves us."
With that much growing still left to do, making a significant financial commitment to Pickens is a risky proposition.
The Steelers could opt to draft a wide receiver like Missouri's Luther Burden III or Ohio State's Emeka Egbuka -- or even use money they would've paid Pickens to acquire a top-tier free agent such as Tee Higgins, Chris Godwin, Amari Cooper or Stefon Diggs.
Adam Schefter and Rex Ryan weigh in on Mike Tomlin and the Steelers' future following their sixth consecutive playoff loss.
Put Justin Fields in pole position
From the time the Steelers acquired Fields and Russell Wilson last offseason, Wilson was the organization's understood QB1. Though he jump-started the passing game once he finally returned from his calf injury, Wilson's play dropped off down the stretch.
"Obviously it didn't end the way we wanted it to, and I think there's a lot more to do," he told reporters Monday.
Wilson wants to be back in 2025, but the Steelers should be wary about committing resources toward a 36-year-old quarterback who was inconsistent and made questionable decisions in the most critical moments.
Though Fields' time as the starter was brief, he showed promising signs as a mobile, dual-threat quarterback. Giving him a full offseason in "pole position," to borrow Tomlin's offseason phrase that described Wilson's previous standing, could further develop him and give the offense a chance to mold around his skills.
"The way that he managed his professional circumstance was really impressive," Tomlin said of Fields' potential to be the Steelers' 2025 starter. "I thought he brought an urgency to his day-to-day work regardless of his role. I thought he got continually better within our system of ball throughout the process. I thought the way he conducted himself makes that a legitimate thought or idea at this juncture."
The Steelers should also explore the free agent and trade market -- hello Sam Darnold, Kirk Cousins and Aaron Rodgers -- and they should also exercise caution and patience in the 2025 NFL draft. The Steelers reached for Kenny Pickett by taking him No. 20 in the 2022 NFL draft -- one pick earlier than their slot this season. Not only did he not pan out, but it created an awkward situation with free agent acquisition -- and immediate lame duck starter -- Mitchell Trubisky. This quarterback class is arguably worse. The Steelers won't land Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders unless they make a move to trade up into the top five.
The Steelers, though, could better set themselves up for the future if they forgo using premium draft capital to land a quarterback this time around and rely on Fields, a late-round rookie and a low-priced vet. It might lead to the team bottoming out in 2025, but that would better position them for a higher draft pick in 2026 when quarterbacks, including Arch Manning, Carson Beck, Nico Iamaleava and Cade Klubnik, could be available.
Make tough staff changes
The most probable changes coming to the Steelers are on the coaching staff, even if the people in charge aren't the root causes of the problems.
Austin, promoted from senior defensive assistant to coordinator following Keith Butler's retirement in 2022, oversaw a defense that dropped off significantly over the final five games of the 2024 season. The Steelers finished the season 16th in yards allowed (334.3 yards per game), 10th in rushing defense (109.8) and 23rd in passing defense (224.5). Each of those marks was marginally better than a season ago, but the final numbers don't fully reflect the steep decline against the league's top quarterbacks and offenses.
In their final three games against Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes, the Steelers ranked near the bottom of the league in giving up an average of 389 total yards, 243.7 passing yards and 145.3 rushing yards.
And though the Steelers were productive forcing takeaways early in the season, they managed only five over their final five games after racking up 28 in the first 13 games.
That drop-off suggests the Steelers either need different ideas or a different voice relaying those ideas. Should the Steelers part with Austin, they could look at candidates such as former Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, who helped the Bengals get to the Super Bowl in the 2021 season or current Michigan DC and former Ravens DC Wink Martindale, known for his aggressive and exotic blitz packages.
The other high-impact change to be made is in the offensive line room with position coach Pat Meyer. Though the Steelers invested significant resources into the position -- signing Isaac Seumalo and James Daniels while using back-to-back first-round picks to select tackles Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu in addition to 2024 early round picks for center Zach Frazier and guard Mason McCormick, the line play still hovered around average.
Despite bringing in offensive coordinator Arthur Smith to reinvigorate the run game, the Steelers averaged 121.7 rushing yards, only slightly better than the 2023 average of 117.6. In the last three games, the run game dropped off to 101.7 yards per game, and they mustered 29 yards in the wild-card loss. The Steelers also gave up 49 sacks. It's time to see more return on the offensive line investment.
Part of that is bad luck because of a season-ending injury to Fautanu before his season ever began, and both Seumalo and Jones battled through injuries early. Daniels was also lost for the season after an injury against Indianapolis. Even so, Jones' development plateaued, and McCormick struggled late. With a quartet of second- and third-year players on the early projected starting line for next season, the Steelers need an offensive line coach with a proven track record of development.